Cutter



June 23, 1931. n. D. wHlTAcRE CUTTER Filed Sept. '7, 1929 9M. mum, mm, NN

Patented June 23, 1931 nuire STATES Parent cierres K DONALD D. WHITACB-E, CF WAYNESB'URG, OHTO CUTTER Application led September 7, 1929. Serial No. 391,070.

tile which have portions of their cutV ends lying in different planes; to provide a tile cutter which may be adapted either to cut tile having parallel plane end surfaces or tile which have portions cut out of one end; to provide a tile cutter which will cut a continuously moving stream of clay into tile having end surfaces lying partly in one plane andl partly in another to cut the clay stream to form notches in either the ends of body of the resulting blocks; and to provide a rugged and efficient machine for cutting tile orthe like. p

A preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the drawings in which- Fig. l is a side elevation of my cutting machine in position to cut tile from a stream of clay extruded from a standard form of extruder; Fig.-2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragment-ary view of the cam mechanism; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one form of tile adapted to be cut by my cutter. Y

The extruding mill 1, shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1, may be of any suitable type and is preferably equipped with a die through which the moist plastic clay isforced to give it the shape desired. lVhen making the tile T illust-rated in Fig. 5 the die 2 will be shaped to form the longitudinally extendingl apertures, shells and webs and the tile will be extruded as a continuously moving stream of clay, having the desired cross section. To form the individual tile shown in Fig. 5 the stream of clay must be cut into piecesof proper length and shape. It is exceedingly advantageous to perfor this cutting operation while the clay stream i turned to its starting is in motion and my apparatus provides a simple and eii'icient As the extruded clay st 2 it passes over the suppor apparatus for so doing.

ream leaves the die tine roll 3 and then to the cutting table 4. Secured to the under side of table 4 are the downwardly extending side members 5 which are adapted to reston and The wheels roll over the flanged wheels 6. 6 are mounted on fixed axles 7 which are secured to the frame 8. The axles 7 are so spaced that the side members always supported on wheels 6 in the known manner.

o are well the cut tiles 11 as they the table 4 and the belt 9. A `table return lever 1 ported on the bracket 18,

tached to one of the side connected to the frame links 14 and 15. This li The cutting mech move along between 2 is pivotally supwhich may be atmembers 5, and is 8 through slidable nkconnection permits the table to roll freely on the wheels G to the end of its travel and be manually reposition by thelever 12. anism proper consists of a pair of U-shaped yokes 16 which are p ivoted to the brackets side member 5.

17 secured to the The yokes 1G are connectu ed together by suitable cross member sucl as 18, 19 and 20 forming a rigid structure.

which are strung across members 18 vand e tile are cut by the cutting wires 21 between the cross are spaced apart t-lie proper distance to cut the size of tile desired.

They may be maintained at the desired tension by means of adjusting screws 22 and are adapted to enter the slots 23 in the table 4 at the endv of their cutting movement.

As is seen from Fig. 5

the tile has a substantially rectangular piece cut out on one side. lary cutting wires 25 across the open ends of To cut this piece 24 I provide auxilwhich the are strung yokes or bows 26. `These bows 26 are mounted for swinging movement in bearing' blocks 27 and are connected together adjacent ends by members 28.

their lower These connecting members 28 are pivotally secured to each ofthe bows 26 so that they will all swing together. The bearing blocks 27 are mounted on the longitudinal members 20 and it will be seen that the main cutting wires 21 and the auxiliary cutting wires 25 are supported by a rigid structure which is pivoted to the brackets 17 and is adapted to swing about this pivot toward and away from the table 4. 1

A cam roller 29 is mounted on a' downwardly extending frame 30 which is secured tothe member 28. The roll 29 is adapted toy travel'in and be guided by a curved upwardly projecting cam trackV 31. The bracket 32 which supports the cam track 31 maybe secured to the top of the table 4in any desired manner and is best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. The track 31 `is curved to `correspondwith thepath of the roll 29 as it swings about the pivotal axis A of the bracket 17 and is provided with two adjacent track portions one of which, 33, guides the roll 29 in its downward movement and the other ofwhich, 34, guides its upward movement. The curved bottom portion 35 of the cam track 31 serves to throw the-roll V29- over fromtrack`33 to track 34 as the roll is moved downwardly and the upper curved portion 36 throws the roll back from the track 34 to the track 33'on its upward movement. The exact shapev ofl the cam tracks33 and' 34 and the curved end vportions 35 and 36 determine the shape of the cut, as Awill be clear from the following explanation ofthe preferred method y of operating myv cutter.

of clay moves Y simply slide over-its surface and on to the' mechanism 1s swung upwardly on its pivot- "When the extruding machine 1 is in operation, a continuous stream of plastic clay is forced through the forming 10 to theV conveyor belt 9. As the stream the friction between it and lie table 4 will'be sufficient to cause the table 4, together with the cutting mechaism,`kto be moved alongk on the wheels 6 at the same speed as the clay stream. vThe movement of the table 4 is limited, however, by a stop 37 and when-the table reaches this stop, this clay stream V will conveyor 9. Assuming that the cutting edsupports so :that the. cutting wires are Vabove the clay stream and the, table 4 is J againsty the lstop 37 the operator swings tlrie return lever 12 which slides the table back` against the movement of the clay streamv until it reaches the position shown in Fig. 1. vAs soon asvthe lever 12 is released the table starts to move with the clay stream and the opera-tor then pulls; down'the cutting mechanism until it is inv the position shown in Fig. 2, and then lifts it up until it is up Y p 4 die 2, over the roll'3 and across the table 4 and plate;

out of the path of thev clay stream. Thislowering and lifting of Y during the cutting operation.

The main cutting wires 21 travel up and down in the same path. On their down stroke they makethe vertical cuts indicated at 38 in Fig. 1, and on their upstroke they pass back through the cut 38 without furthercutting. yAt the beginning of the down stroke of the cutting mechanism, the roll 29-is at the top of the track 33 and on the down stroke the wires 25 make the vertical cutsindicated at 39 in Fig. 1. As the roll 29 comes to the bottom of the cam, it is thrown to the left into the track 34 by the curved portion 35 and-makes the substantially horizontal cut 40.' The radiusjoining cuts 39 and 40 will depend upon'the curvature of ther portion35 of the vcam track.

VThe upward guiding tracki34 is so positioned that, on the upward movement of the cutting mechanism, the auxiliary cutting cutting wires 25 will move 1n the cuts 38 made by the main cutting w1res'21 on their down stroke and the Ytop curved portion 36 is so located that it will throw the roll 29 back into track 33 y'after the wires 25are clear of the clay stream. o

In the apparatus illustrated in the drawings, I have shown four main cutting wires and four auxiliary outing wires and from the above description it will'be seen` that each complete. movement of the cutting mechanism fromv its rupper :position V,to the bottom of its stroke and back .to the start- Ving'point will cut three complete tiles. Any

v be put back in the extrudingmac'hine so there will beno clay wasted. Y n

Although I have illustrated and described herein a machine for cutting ak particular shape of clay tile, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that my invention may be adapted tov cutting other shapes and materials than those specifically mentioned without departing from the spirit of myinvention, and I do not limit myself in any manner other than by the appended claims.

I claim z- Y f Y 1. In` apparatus for cutting a 'moving stream of plastic material into similiarly shaped pieces the combination of a table adapted to move with said material, and cutting mechanism adapted lto move with said table comprising means for making spaced apart cuts through said stream of material Y and means Jfor simultaneously making other comprising a cutting table,

cuts in said material starting in spaced relation to said irst named cuts and extending to said first named cuts.

2. Apparatus for cutting a mass of plastic material into sections comprising a plurality of cutting wires, means for moving some of said wires downwardly through said plastic mass and upwardly through the slot made on their downward movement, means for causing others ot said wires to enter said mass at points removed Jfrom the slots cut by said first named wires, pass partially through said mass and be removed through the slots cut by said first named wires.

3. In apparatus for cutting plastic materials the combination of a cutting wire, means for moving said cutting wire through said plastic material, a second cutting wire and means for moving ksaid second cutting wire through said plastic material for a portion of its movement and through the slot cut in said material by the lirst named wire for a portion of its movement. y

4. In apparatus for cutting plastic materials a pair of cutting wires, means for moving one of said wires downwardly through said material, means for simultaneously moving the other of said wires through said material in a path removed Jfrom the path of travel of said iirst named wire and means for guiding said second named wire into the l path ot' travel of said first named wire.

5. In apparatus for cutting plastic materials a cutting wire, means for moving said wire downwardly through said material and upwardly through the cut made on the downward movement, a second cutting wire, means for moving said second wire downwardly and laterally through said material and upwardly through the cut made on the downward movement of said iirst named wire.

6. Apparatus for cutting plastic material comprising a cutting table, means for supporting a plurality of cutting wires above said table, means ltor'moving some of said wires in parallel paths, a cam secured to said table, a cam follower secured to said wire supporting means and adapted to coact with said cam to cause others of said cutting wires to move in paths partly sepr arate from and partly coincident with the paths of said iirst named wires.

7. Apparatus for cutting plastic materials a wire supporting trame pivoted to said table, a plurality of cutting wires mounted on said frame, a plurality of auxiliary cutting wires, means for supporting said auxiliary wires on said wire supporting frame to permit movement of said auxiliary wires relative to said frame, and cam means adapted to .control the movement of said auxiliary wires relative to said wire supporting means.

8. Apparatus for cutting tile from a moving stream of plastic material comprising a cutting table, means for supporting said table to allow it a limited movement in the direction of travel of said stream of material, means for causing said table to move in a direction opposite to that of the stream of material, means secured to said table and movable therewith for cutting said stream of material into tile, and auxiliary cam guided cutting means for cutting out portions of said tile adjacent the cuts made by said first named cutting means.

9. Tile cut-ting mechanism comprising a table, a Yiframe pivotally supported on said table, cutting wires pivotally suspended from said frame and means for directing and swinging said wires relative to said frame.

10. Tile cutting mechanism comprising a table movable with the clay stream, a Jframe pivotally mounted on said t-able and swingable about an axis parallel to said clay stream, cutting means pivotally suspended from said :trame and swingable about an axis normal to said clay stream, a track member secured to the table and curved about the pivotal axis of the frame as a center, and a roller connected to said means guided in said track .for directing the movement of said means.

11. In an apparatus for cutting a mass of plastic material into sections, a cutting wire, means for moving said wire downwardly through said material and upwardly through the cut made on the downward movement, a second cutting wire, means for moving said second wire downwardly and laterally through said material and upwardly and out of said mass.

12. Apparatus :tor cutting a mass of plastic material into sections comprising a plurality of cutting wires, means for moving certain of said wires in one direction into said plastic mass and out through the slots made on said first named movement, means for causing others of said wires to enter said mass at points spaced from the slots cut by said rst named wires and to move downwardly and laterally thereinto, said second named wires being moved in another direction to eil'ect the removal thereof from said mass.

In testimony whereof I hereunto atiix my signature this 27th day of August, 1929. DONALD D. WHITACRE. 

